How can IP help achieve the 17 SDGs?

May 2, 2024

1. No Poverty

– Develop solutions that take people out of poverty. With IP, people can protect their ideas and take them to market, that can build businesses, create jobs, and improve livelihoods.

2. Zero Hunger

– Secure the world’s food supply and cut food waste using innovation, backed by IP rights. IP rights incentivize innovation, investment, and knowledge transfer in the farming and food sectors.

3. Good health and well-being

– Generate public health advances and products. Innovation is critical in ensuring the development of medical care and accessibility for all.

4. Quality Education

– With IP education, inventors, creators and entrepreneurs gain the IP skills and knowledge to transform their ideas into new and improved technologies.

5. Gender equality

– Empower women and make gender equality a priority  to achieve sustainable economic, social, and cultural development and to utilize their imagination and ingenuity.

6. Clean water and sanitation

– Enables the management and innovation of new technologies for the planet’s water resources sustainability.

7. Affordable and clean energy

– Enhances energy security and facilitates the transfer and deployment of clean energy technologies. Energy companies use IP to support their innovation goals and attract the investment they need to deliver affordable and clean energy.

8. Decent work and economic growth

– Generate income from innovative and creative outputs. Companies who pursue cross-border flow of technology, brands, designs, and content also create jobs and contribute to national economic performance.

9. Industry, innovation, and infrastructure

– Offers the incentives and safeguards needed for inventors and creators to invest in developing their new technical solutions to deep-rooted sustainability challenges.

10. Reduced inequalities

– Developing countries are enabled to participate in the global innovation economy and benefit from the IP system. 

11. Sustainable cities and communities

– Foster technologies for urban renewal and meeting sustainability goals. Supports the development of technologies needed to revitalize and modernize urban areas so residents can enjoy a better quality of life and sustainability targets are met.

12. Responsible consumption and production

– Enables innovative businesses to generate value from sustainability-focused technologies, products, and services. 

13. Climate action

– Supports the availability of climate-friendly technologies that can help mitigate the impacts of climate change.

14. Life below water

– Encourage the innovation needed to develop sustainable fishing and aquaculture, tackle pollution, restore marine ecosystems and generate more efficient, productive, and affordable ocean-related activities.

15. Life on land

– Help mitigate environmental challenges and create a balanced and lasting connection between people and the environment.

16. Peace, justice and strong institutions

– The IP system exists to create an enabling environment for innovation and creativity to thrive and for related disputes to be resolved.

17. Partnerships for the goals

– Support the collaborations that foster the innovation and creativity we need to transform inventions and scientific outcomes into new products and services that benefit society.

Source: https://ip-sdgs.wipo.int/